MEADOW HEIGHTS LACK NUMBERS ON VARSITY

The Meadow Heights boys basketball team better not get into foul trouble this season.

Panthers coach Jeff Gravon has only seven varsity players at his disposal in what could be another rough year for Meadow Heights.

On top of the lack of depth, the Panthers don't have any dominant players either."We don't have any superstars," Gravon said. "Just kids who work hard, are very coachable and will compete. The kids we have got have got great attitudes and want to play the game."Despite the lack of numbers, Gravon said this team should be competitive."We'll be competitive and I think we'll surprise some teams if we don't turn the ball over," said Gravon. "I think we've got some smart kids who know how to play the game. We've got several kids who can handle the ball. I think we've got more balance and more flexibility than last year."Meadow Heights returns three starters from last year's squad, 6-foot-2 center Troy Hays, 6-0 forward John Smith and 6-1 forward Joe Jones. All three are seniors.

The backcourt will be very young, consisting of 5-8 sophomore Josh Mayfield and 6-1 senior exchange student Mike Wuethrich, from Switzerland. Derik Collier, a 5-9 freshman will also be called upon to handle the ball on the varsity team.

Rounding out the varsity roster is 6-1 center Brandon Tallent.

Meadow Heights has gone 12-80 over the past four years, but Gravon said better things are on the way."We're trying to get over the hump here," he said. "We're trying to develop ballplayers and win a few ballgames. We're trying to get to that 10-12 win plateau instead of the 6-8. We've got a great grade school and junior high program going here now and the junior varsity team should be pretty good this year."Meadow Heights lost its best player from a year ago, forward Seth Revelle, and its best shooter in J.D. Brune.

The Panthers opened the season Nov. 22 against Leopold.